Sakiya's Followers
by Maccattack213
Summary: When Torak and Renn head into the recently discovered forest, they find more than they expected, and when the burden of saving the people is dumped on their shoudlers, will they run back to Fin-Kedinn, or fight to the death?
1. Chapter 1

The arrow struck the Deer before it even realised the hunters were there. It thudded to the ground, almost dead, the last of its life rushing away in the steady stream of blood around the arrows entry point. The hunter walked over to the animal and whispered in its ear "May your spirits be at peace" and snapped its neck. The hunter's partner walked over to help and placed a willow bark cup to stop the blood seeping into the ground.

Torak started skinning the beast, one of the biggest he'd caught so far. As he slit its belly open, wolf ran over to take his share. Torak pulled out the slimy liver and threw it high into the air. Wolf gulped it down in one go, and Pebble ran and dove into the slimy innards and started rolling around. Darkfur pulled her cub out, and Renn tossed them a piece of meat each. Darkfur gulped hers up, but Rip flew in and pecked Pebble. While the cub was distracted, Rek flew in and stole the meat. Pebble ran around, chasing Rip and Rek, but they flew out of Pebbles reach, teasing the wolf cub.

Torak and Renn laughed, and wolf ran over and jumped on Torak, snuffling and play-biting him. Then they all ended up rolling around and the wolves snuffling them all.

Torak removed himself from the jaws of Pebble and went to finish butchering the carcass. A pesky raven landed on it and pecked out an eye ball, but Torak waved Rip away before any serious damage could be done. Renn had followed Torak's example and started lighting the fire from her strike fire.

Soon Torak and Renn were sitting around a fire, eating a deer stew, while Wolf was out hunting for Pebble, Darkfur and his meals.

Everything was exactly how Torak wanted it. He wished he could stay in that moment forever. The only thing that could make it better would be if Wolf was there.

Pebble wandered over and lay against his leg. Not long after, the cub was asleep. Torak realised then how exhausted he was. They had been walking all day. He curled up into his sleeping sack, and Renn did the same. Wolf trotted into the clearing where they were camped and dropped food at the cub's and then the she-wolf's feet. When they were finished, he ate something himself.

Renn's breathing became steady and deeper; she was asleep. Torak watched Rip and Rek roost in a tree just as he was nodding off.

Then came they scream. Torak sat bolt upright, a split second before Renn. Wolf let out a low growl. Pebble went and hid behind Darkfur. Rip and Rek took to the skies.

Then a girl of around eight summers old burst into the clearing at full pelt.


	2. Chapter 2

Torak had his knife out and Renn her bow before the girl could even register there were people there. Renn's bow firmly sighted on the girls back, the child dropped to her knees and grabbed Torak's leg.

"Please! You have to help me!" She managed to get out between sobs.  
"Why? What's wrong?" Torak lowered his knife and went to put it in his belt, but the girl grabbed his arm and yelled "Don't! You have to stop them!"

Renn decided she had to take over. Torak was too confused to be of any help.  
"Come here over here and sit down. There, that's better. Now, can you tell us what's going on?"

"They want to sacrifice me!"  
"WHAT!? WHO DO?!" Renn couldn't believe it. _'Who could sacrifice a person?'  
_"S- Sa- Sakiya's people" she stammered, just before she burst into tears.

Darkfur and Pebble both turned and looked into the trees. They could hear something.

_What is it? _Torak asked.  
_Tall tailless. Bad. _

Then Torak and Renn heard it too. Loud footsteps crushing their way through the undergrowth. _'Sounds like a herd of deer'_ Torak thought as he pulled out his axe. Renn had her bow drawn and pointing at where the noise was coming from. The girl was hiding behind her.

Then eighteen people burst through the trees. Men, women, children, people from all different clans by the looks of it. They stopped when they saw Renn, Torak and the girl.

"Give us the girl. She is ours" said a tall, heavily muscled man.  
"Yours? How can you own a person? She gets to decide where she wants to be" Renn called out defiantly.  
"She. Is. Ours. Give her to us. NOW!" After this, he raised his spear and pointed it at Torak's throat. That was just before an arrow lodged itself in the man's wrist. The hand was almost detached. It was hanging on a strand of flesh. Blood was pouring out of the wound. The man was screaming in agony. Someone ran forward to help and they stumbled away, the man being half carried.

"We will get you! You better watch your backs! Sakiya's watching!" Someone called as they all faded into the trees and within seconds they were all gone.

After a few minutes silence, Renn muttered "That was eerie.

"So, tell us who you are" Renn told the little girl as they sat down next to the fire.  
"My names Sasha. I'm from Earth Tribe."  
"Earth Tribe? You mean clan? And you can't be a member of the earth clan, it doesn't exist. No one could have that privilege" Renn said.  
"I don't know where you come from, but what's a clan?"  
"What's a clan?! It's a group of people who live together and hunt together. We look out for each other. We are family. How could you not know that?" Renn was astonished.  
"So a tribe? That's what a tribe is. And why can't it be earth? It's just dirt."  
"Clan" Torak said.  
"Tribe" said Sasha.  
"Clan."  
"Tribe."  
"Clan."  
"Tribe."  
"Cla- ouch!" Torak yelped when Renn punched him in the shoulder. "What?"  
"Shut up. Sasha. Just dirt? Just. Dirt? I can't believe you just said that." Renn was offended.  
"What else is it?" Sasha asked.  
"It's… Never mind."  
"OK" Sasha was confused.  
"Well. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight." Torak was hurt at Renn's reaction.  
"Goodnight" Renn replied, seeing his hurt and feeling guilty.  
"Nighty night" said Sasha.

Torak got up and walked over to his sleeping sack. A spider scuttled off it and ran into the bush. As he watched it on its way, he noticed Renn watching him. Feeling self-conscious, he got in his sleeping sack and closed his eyes. He heard the sound of Sasha getting in Renn's sleeping sack. _'where is she going to sleep?'_ he thought as sleep started to cloud his mind.

He heard the sound of someone crouching next to him and his eyes shot open. He saw Renn's leg, right in front of his face. He felt her hand on his.  
"You awake?" She asked.  
"Yep."  
"Good" she said as she lay next to him and put her arm over him. He turned and wrapped her in his arms. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, then they slowly started moving their heads together. Torak's lips met Renn's, and he felt like a thousand lightning bolts struck him at once. Her lips were so soft and warm; he wished the kiss would never end. But Renn broke off and looked at him again. She smiled, her sweet, sweet smile.  
"Looks like I don't have a sleeping sack tonight."

Torak smiled and moved over.


	3. Chapter 3

Renn awoke, Torak's arms draped over her. She lifted it off carefully, smiling as he grunted and turned in his sleep. Then she looked for Sasha.

She was gone.

Renn was instantly alert, looking around the bushes, looking for any sign of the people from the night earlier. There were a heap of footprints in the dirt where a person or group of people, considering how many footprints there were, had walked, and had been dragging someone along in the dirt, leaving a long dragging trail. To Renn, it looked scarily like someone had come in to the camp and dragged Sasha away. She shook Torak awake, and he jumped up and had his knife out. Renn grabbed his arm and pointed to the footprints and said: "I think they took her".

Then they heard the rustling in the bushes. Renn had her bow in her hands and pointing it at the sound within two seconds and Torak had his axe out, ready to plunge into the skull of an unsuspecting attacker. Sensing their distress, Wolf bounded to Torak's side and Rip and Rek landed on one of Renn's shoulders each. Darkfur stood back and stood guard over Pebble, preparing to run, warned by Wolf's reaction.

Then there was a scream as Sasha walked out of the bush carrying a length of firewood. Renn lowered her bow and Torak put his axe away. Sasha huddled on the ground and covered her face with her hands. Renn ran over and wrapped her arms around the whimpering girl, but she just pushed her away. Wolf barked, and Torak told him '_No'_ firmly in wolf talk. The animal backed away and went to Darkfur and Pebble. Rip and Rek, as Renn ran off, scattered into the sky.

"It's ok! We thought it was one of those people from last night! We thought they had taken you!" Renn rambled off, trying to calm the girl.  
"Get away, get away!" She cried.  
"Sasha, it's ok, look" Torak said as he placed his axe on the ground. She looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Slowly, she let Renn pull her to her feet.  
"I got firewood" Sasha said. Renn smiled.  
"I can see that."

Torak got a fire going as Renn calmed Sasha down a bit more, and made them a breakfast out of the deer they had in their packs. He threw Wolf, Darkfur and Pebble a piece each, but not much as didn't want to blunt their natural hunting skills, and put some on a wooden plate for Renn and another for Sasha.

"We better get under way again after this" Torak announced to them.  
"Where are we going?" Sasha asked.  
"Not sure actually. We came here to explore, we didn't know there would be people here. Up until a few weeks ago, we didn't even know this place existed."  
"Why wouldn't it?" Sasha seemed confused as to how someone couldn't know this place existed.  
"We live on the other sides of some really big mountains, so we had never seen it before" Renn explained. Still confused, Sasha walked in silence.

They decided on stopping for food and rest after what seemed like forever to Sasha. She was thirsty and starving, so they found a nice place by a stream to sit and each. Wolf and Darkfur went behind the trees, playing and running, obviously on some adventure together, while Pebble dashed madly around, trying to avoid the diving beaks of Rip and Rek. Torak and Renn sat close together, so close that their legs were touching. Every now and then they would turn and smile at each other.

"You two are acting just like my parents used to. Just before…" Sasha trailed off.  
"Just before what?" Torak blurted out, obviously not noticing the girl was on the verge of tears.  
"Well…" she began. "My dad left when I was really little, and my mum was always moving around. She never really told me what she did when she left… but one day she left, said she was going to the mountains for work and she never came back." There was an awkward silence.  
"Well" Torak said, breaking the quiet. "I guess we better be on our way."

After twenty minutes or so, they came across a rock with a strange symbol on it. It was the symbol of Eostra, the Eagle Owl Mage. Torak had his knife out and was looking around the undergrowth for any signs of a tokoroth or any other fowl creature Eostra could cook up. Sasha looked at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.  
"See that symbol? That's the mark of Eostra, the Eagle Owl Mage. She is a bad, bad person, she tried to kill us. More than once" Renn replied.  
"What are you talking about? That's my mummy's symbol!"


End file.
